1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to the field of shipping and storing devices for blooming flowers, and more particularly to a device for protecting Gerbera flower blooms during shipping and storage.
2. The Prior Art
Gerbera is a genus comprising about 40 species of daisies that are distributed from Africa across to Madagascar into tropical Asia and South America. Through hybridization, a massive array of colors is now available. Having a long vase life, these flowers are widely used in the cut flower industry. The Gerbera daisy usually has a shaft between 12 and 36 inches. The blooms are available in different sizes: normal, mini and jumbo.
The blooms are up to about 12 cm wide and are shipped in full bloom or almost full bloom. Because the gerbera blooms are so large relative to the strength of the stem, the blooms must be protected in transit.
At greenhouses, the Gerbera are cut and prepared for shipment. At a xe2x80x9ctablexe2x80x9d with holes for flower protectors, each flower is inserted into a flower protector. When the Gerberas reach their destination at a florist, the daisies are removed from their protectors and used in flower arrangements. Unfortunately, the daisy petals often cling to the plastic protectors and the blooms and stems are damaged as the protectors are pushed down the stem or torn from the daisy.
A flower cup has a flared bell-like shape, the cup including a flared rim, tapered sides and a substantially flat base. The rim and sides have a stippled or embossed finish and a plurality of inside-to-outside perforations running from the rim to the base, where the perforations adjoin a plurality of lines which radiate from the center of the base. Optionally, the plurality of side perforations is six and the plurality of base lines is six. The flower cup can have side perforations aligned with the base lines. The plurality of base lines can be partly perforated and partly cut. Half of the base lines can be fully cut and the other half of the base lines can be partly cut and partly perforated. Optionally, the flower cup has a stippled finish. A flower-stem protector has a straw sized to accommodate flower stems and having at least one rib on its proximal end, and a collar affixed to the proximal end of the straw.